The Evenings
First edition cover | |
| Author | Gerard Reve (Simon van het Reve) |
|---|---|
| Original title | De avonden |
| Language | Dutch |
| Set in | Amsterdam, 22–31 December 1946 |
| Publisher | De Bezige Bij |
Publication date | November 1947 |
| Publication place | Netherlands |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-90-234-5573-8 |
| OCLC | 35952069 |
| 839.3 | |
| LC Class | PT5881.28.E9 A95 1972 |
The Evenings: A Winter's Tale (Dutch: De avonden: Een winterverhaal) is the debut novel of the Dutch author Gerard Reve. It was released in November 1947 under the pseudonym "Simon van het Reve".
The novel describes ten evenings out of the life of the 23-year-old office clerk Frits van Egters living in Amsterdam. It is partitioned into ten chapters, of which each describes an evening between 22 and 31 December 1946. The novel was written very shortly after World War II. Though the war itself is hardly mentioned, the story gives, by describing an individual's experiences, a detailed description of contemporary post-war society which was marked by fear, boredom and loneliness.